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International experts are working together to conduct a large-scale expedition to the Antikythera shipwreck. The site is home to one of the most significant finds in archeological history - the Antikythera mechanism - an ancient astronomical computer.

September 14th 2014

4 years ago

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Antikythra anticlimax … Excitement about the famous, mysterious ancient calculator has caused a storm in a teapot among historical circles.Source:Supplied

It fell to the seabed after the ship carrying it was wrecked upon rocks some 2200 years ago. It was one of the ancient world’s great wonders. And we had no idea what it was until 50 years after it was rediscovered by divers in 1901.

It’s a freakishly complex machine.

It’s a mechanism of bronze cogs and levers used to predict the phases of the sun and moon.

It may have even been far more complex — also capable of calculating the course of the planet and stars through the night sky.

As such, it was a ‘divination machine’.

A hand-cranked calculator used by priests, prophets and seers to awe audiences with accurate predictions about impending eclipses — and ominous celestial alignments.

So … just how powerful was it?

The analog computer has fascinated a generation of computer entrepreneurs. So a series of expeditions to the small island of Antikythera between Greece and Crete has been funded to see if more fragments of the mysterious device could be recovered.

One tantalising piece was found on the seabed during an expedition last year.

The wreck was severely damaged by explorer Jean-Jacques Cousteau in the 1970s when he hauled a multitude of marble and bronze statues from the seabed. What remains has been scattered about, or tumbled further into the deep.

The bronze disc, however, seemed promising. It had four protrusions, large ‘cog’-like teeth spaced at regular intervals.

An X-ray of the bronze plate found at the Antikythera shipwreck site, left, and a reconstruction of its appearance.Source:Supplied

It’s since been X-rayed and scanned.

It’s been found to be engraved with the image of a bull. Is this Taurus, the a star constellation and one of the signs of the Zodiac?

Engineers and mathematicians have been struggling to understand the complexity of the Antikythera Mechanism since it was realised to be a metal machine, and not a barnacle encrusted rock, in the 1950s.

People are getting excited over this Haaretz report of a missing piece of the Antikythera Mechanism discovered . . . but not so fast:https://t.co/Fqvo0XhWav

The new disk, if it belonged to the device could confirm its ability to predict the position of the groups of stars so important to the priests and seers of the era.

But … it doesn’t.

A reconstruction of a possible configuration of the Antikythera Mechanism.Source:News Corp Australia

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Archaeologists have been quick to point out the new report overemphasises the importance of the bronze disc.

But, the immense anticipation surrounding anything relating to the mysterious ancient device saw the article circulated quickly and widely … even by experts who should have known better.

To clarify, haaretz (and I) have caused unnecessary excitement over the purported 'unearthing' of a piece of the antikythera mechanism. It was actually found and reported on (with no am connection) last year. Apologies for not checking before posting.. Cf https://t.co/UCWIDuU1EW

But the bull-engraved plate is very unlikely to be part of the device’s complex workings. If the four protrusions were cogs, they’re unusually crude for such a intricate device. Most likely, they were practical attachments for whatever the disc adorned.

At best, the bull-disc could have been an ornamental piece attached to the Antikythera Mechanism’s case. But it’s just as likely to have decorated some long-decayed panel of wood, or even priestly robes.

The inner workings of the Antikythera device were exposed through X-rays.Source:Supplied

How many cogs made up the original device is unknown. But inferences based on the positions and fittings attached to the parts already found hint at anywhere between 37 and 70. Others argue there may have actually been two different devices carried on the ship, with their components having become mixed up.

Either way, the manufacturing precision necessary for such a mechanism to work is immense: a slight buckle in just one cog could throw out its calculations or jam its workings.